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I coRx FEEDER Filed May 28, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 2, 1931.

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A. l. RISSER Y com: FEEDER Filed May 28. 1928 June 2, 1931.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 2, 1931 ARTHUR I. nrssnn, or c IIoAeo, ILLINOIS, v V

00.,r CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINoIs PATENT OFFICE ASSIGNOR TO 'U. S. BOTTLERS MACHiNERY CORK FEEDER Application filed 'May 28,

This invention relates to improvements in cork feeding devices, and for a main object to provide improved means for feeding the corksfrom the hopper, one at a time, so

as to present the corks for any desired purpose or use and in a predetermined arrangement.

Further objects are to provide means for selecting the corks from the hopper without tearing, crushing, or damaging the same;

and to provide means for stirring and loosening the corks in the bottom of the hopper and in the vicinity of the hopper outlet so that a large number of corks can be placed in the hopper at eachfilling of the same.

Other objects are to provide in such a device movable selecting meanshavlng surfaces which are effective for agltating and 9 working the corks into the discharging por tions without abraidlng the corks, said means having surfaces which. are adapted to pass the edges of the stationary bottom plates of the hopper and move out from relation with the corks without cutting the same.

Other objects are to provide means for stirring the corks and moving them away from the" stationary wall of the hopper,

which is adjacent the upwardly moving side of the portion of the selecting drum which is exposed to the corks in the hopper so that the corks cannot jam in the angular space at the upwardly moving side of the drum and from a bridge over the outlet, and also for the purpose of urging the corks back up onto the top, of the drum so that they will eventually find their way .into the groove and drop through the outlet.

Another object is to provide suitabledriv- 0 ing means for the stirring element which will resiliently yield in either direction to prevent the exertion of under pressure on the corks. I V

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following description with 1928. Serial No. 281,346.

33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig.2, i I

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the outlet, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. V

Fig. 7 is a view of the driving link or connecting rod member shown in Fig. 1, with parts broken away and parts shown in section. 1

Fig. 8 shows the link in a changed position. I i

The hopper l is provided with castmemhers 2 and 3 in its lower portion, which are bolted to the base plate 4, the member 3 forming the front wallofthe hopper at the throat portion thereof; and an inclined bottom plate 5 is bolted to the member 2 and extends in angular relation with the front wall 3.}-

Adjace nt the wall 3 andparallel therewith is rotatably mounted the selecting member 'or drum 6, the drum being providedwith' a shaft 7 which is j ournaled in thebearings 8 and 9 which are bolted on the base plate 4, The drum is rotated counterclockwise, as Viewed in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, as by means of the belt 10 and the pulley 11 which is keyed on the rear end of the shaft 17 ,so that the "surface of the drum adjacent the wall 5 moves upwardly into relation with the corks.

The drum 6 has a central circumferential discharge groove 12 which complements a notch 13, at the side of the drumto form an outlet through which the corks drop when they become properly arranged in the groove.

The plate 5 extends into close relation with the upper portion of the drum 6, and is provided with a tongue 14 which projects into the groove 12, forming a closure for that portion of the hopper. The plate 5 supports the greater portion of the weight of the corks in the hopper, tending to hold the corks back, but directing the corks down onto the exposed segment of the drum and into the angular space between the drum and the wall 3 when said space becomes cleared of corks.

The portions 15 and 151 of the drum 6, at either side of the discharge groove, are conically tapered toward the groove, and are provided with helical grooves 16 so that the corks in contact with the drum are urged toward the groove. The front edges 17 of the grooves recede abruptly from the conical surfaces of the drum, and the rear sides 18 of the grooves slope upwardly towards the conical portions of the surface at an oblique angle. This causes the corks to drop when the groove moves into relation therewith, and then the corks are gradually raised as the grooved portions pass out from under the same, with the result that the corks are continually agitated and stirred at the bottom of the hopper.

As the grooved portions pass under the edge of the plate 5, the corks are raised and also urged toward the discharge groove 12 by the angularity between the grooves 16 and the edge of the wall 5, without danger of cuttin or abraiding the corks. Then, when a cor becomes positioned longitudinally in the discharge grooves, it slides down over the arc of the drum and drops out through the outlet into the discharge chute 19, the wall 3 cooperating with the drum to hold back the corks which are not registered in the discharge groove.

The chute or tube 19 is attached to the plate 4 by means of the flanged collar member 20, and the upper end of the tube is shaped to conform closely to the central grooved portion of the drum. By this arrangement the corks can only drop into the chute one at a time, and it is obvious that when the chute becomes filled with corks, the corks remain in the groove and the feeding merely stops without danger of cutting or damaging the corks.

To facilitate the feeding and to cooperate in preventing the corks from jamming and clogging in the bottom of the hopper, and especially in the vicinity of the outlet, so that more corks can 'be placed in the hopper, I provide a blade or flat bar 21 which is mounted to sweep back and forth over the surface of the wall. The blade is secured at its upper end to the shaft 22 which is rotatably mounted in the wall. At the outer end, the shaft 22 is provided with a miter gear 23, which meshes with a similar gear 24 which is secured on the crank shaft 25.

The crank shaft 25 is rotatably mounted in the brackets 26 which are mounted on the outer side of wall 3, and the forward end of the crank shaft is provided with an arm 125 having a crank pin 27. For driving the shaft to reciprocate the blade 21, an eccentric pin 28 is provided in a disk 29 which is keyed on the front end of the drum shaft 7. The pins 27 and 28 are connected by the yieldable link 30, the radius arm of the pin 27 being longer than the radius arm of the driving pin 28 so that the shaft 25 is oscillated as the drum shaft 7 revolves.

The link 30 consists of two intertelescoping rod members 31 and 32 which are pivotally connected to the pins 28 and 27 respectively, the member 31 being a rod which is secured to the block 33 in which the pin 28 is inserted, and the member 32 being a tube in which the rod 31 telescopes and which is secured to the block 34: in which the pin 27 operates. The cross heads 35 and 36 are slidably mounted on the respective members 31 and 32, and are rigidly connected by the rods 37 and 38. The collar 39 is pinned to the rod 31 and a coiled spring 40 is inserted between the collar and the cross head 35 to urge the same into contact with the stop furnished by the shoulder of the block 31. The upper cross head 36 is urged into contact with the stop collar 41, which is adjustably secured to the lower end of the tubular member 32 by means of the set screw 42. This is accomplished by means of the spring 43 which is extended between the cross head 36 and the pin block 34.

In this construction, which is shown in detail in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, it will be seen that the rods 31 and 32 are yieldably held in a predetermined relation and that the blade 21 is thereby reoiprocated over the face of the wall 3, and that the springs allow relative movement between the rods in either direction when their pressure is exceeded so that undue pressure cannot be exerted on the corks,

The action of the blade 21 is not only effective in preventing jamming at the outlet, but also urges the corks back up onto the upper surfaces of the drum where they can be worked into the discharge groove, and loosen up the corks in the angular space so that there is less tendency for interference with the corks which are aligned in the groove and sliding down toward the outlet.

I claim:

1. In a cork feeder, a hopper having a wall, a drum rotatably mounted in parallel relation with the wall and having a circumferential discharge groove complementing a portion of the wall to form an outlet, a plate in the hopper in sealing relation with the upper portion of the drum, a bar mounted to swing over the surface of the wall, and yieldable means for reciprocating the bar.

2. In a cork feeder, a hopper having a wall, a drum rotatably mounted parallel to the Wall and having a circumferential groove complementing a portion of the Wall to form a bottom plate in the hopper in sealing relation with the upper portion of the drum, means for rotating the drum so that its surface moves upwardly adjacent the Wall, a shaft rotatably mounted in the Wall, a bar mounted on the shaft to move over the surface of the Wall, and a driving connection from the drum to said shaft for reciprocating the bar, said connection being yieldable in either direction.

Signed at Chicago this 22nd day of May, 928.

ARTHUR I. RISSER. 

